This invention relates to a machine for developing photosensitive materials, and more particularly to a container for holding the materials to be processed, which container has a closed condition where the interior is closed off and an open condition where the interior is open.
In the film processing industry, there are a number of machines which are used to develop photosensitive materials. One such machine is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,695,162 issued Oct. 3, 1972, for DEVELOPING MACHINE FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. The developing machine disclosed in the above-referenced patent includes a developing trough and a valve-controlled fluid supply system for sequentially furnishing developing, washing and setting solutions to the trough from dispensing containers. A programmable timer is provided to control the valves of the supply system and to establish the proper time sequence of the steps in a desired developing cycle. As discussed in the prior patent, a wire reel supports the film to be developed in a helical roll to expose uniformly the film to the developing solutions in the trough. The loaded film reel is placed inside a container which comprises a hollow, perforated cylinder. The cylinder is removably supported within the trough by circular hubs adapted to fit within the open ends of the cylinder, with one of the hubs attached to a motor mounted on the trough for rotating and agitating the cylinder.
The automatic developing machine disclosed in the prior patent constituted a significant improvement over the prior art due to its compactness, which made it suitable for use in a small space by a studio or photographer. With the advent of such compact automatic developing machines, there has been a concomitant significant rise in popularity of the small, one-person, fast processing turn-around developing shops. In such shops, it is highly desirable to have one person perform both functions of serving customers and operating the film processor. One of the disadvantages of most small developing machines presently used, is the fact that the initial steps of loading the film into the wire reel, placing the reel into the cylindrical sleeve, and mounting the sleeve within the trough have to be accomplished in a darkened environment. This necessitates that the film processing machine be located in a separate room from the lighted customer area. The few automatic film developing machines which do not have to be kept in a separate, darkened room are generally very expensive and large, making them unsuitable for small, one-person operations.
One prior art system uses a tube with a single end cap. A trough is not utilized in this system. Rather, fluid is injected directly into the tube. This fluid is subsequently drained from the tube when the tube is opened. Two serious drawbacks with this system are (1) that there is inferior flow of fluid to the film, which diminishes the quality of the processing, and (2) that it requires a complex tilting operation to entirely drain the fluid from the tube.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a film developing machine which overcomes the drawbacks and limitations in the prior art proposals. More specifically, the invention has as its objects the following: (1) to provide a film developer which will eliminate the need to locate the developing machine in a separate, dark room remote from the customer area; (2) the provision of an inexpensive developing machine which can be used in a small, one-person, quick turnaround, photo developing operation; (3) to provide a means for retrofitting existing machines for use outside of dark rooms; (4) the provision of a developing machine having a container for supporting the film, where the interior of the container is closed off to light in one condition and in another condition where the interior is open for receiving developing fluid; (5) to provide a container having ends which are fluid pervious, but light impervious; (6) to provide a film developing system which utilizes a trough to provide the most complete and random flow of fluid to maximize the quality of the processing; and (7) to accomplish the above objects with a machine that is relatively inexpensive and which may be operated by one who has received limited training.